Environmental Governance in an Uncertain World [Editorial]
If a single motif could capture realities in today's world, uncertainty - and the complexity that underlies it - would be a likely candidate. Ecological, social, political and economic systems are undergoing change at a rapid pace. Changes occur simultaneously on multiple scales, in space and over time, and through numerous forms of geographical interdependence and historical path-dependency. Economic globalisation, shifting patterns of political governance and new expressions of community and identity are all part of this growing complexity, both as contributors and responses to it. Interactions within and between processes and systems constantly generate unpredictable outcomes and surprises; the result is a world that is inherently less predictable and knowable. In this context, conventional models that have guided the study of environment and development interventions, based on notions of equilibrium and predictability, fail to hold up.
In this Bulletin, we focus on local natural resource issues as one key area of environmental governance, asking how rural people sustain their livelihoods in an uncertain world and what institutional arrangements mediate their access to resources. We argue that the recognition of uncertainty and complexity requires a significant re-thinking of conventional wisdom concerning resources, resource users, community and institutions governing common property The past few decades have seen community-based, decentralised and participatory approaches to natural resource management proliferate in national and international donor agendas. While these approaches have rightly focused on the role of local people and institutions in resource use and conservation, their efforts have often been undermined by failure to take on board socio-political, economic and ecological dynamics and complexities ranging from the local to the global. Thus, in the run-up to the 2002 Johannesburg (Rio + 10) Summit, it is a good time to reflect on how assumptions shaping the landscape of environment and development can be more attuned to the uncertain world we live in, in order to develop more appropriate and effective approaches to environmental governance.
History
Publisher
Institute of Development StudiesCitation
Mehta, L.; Leach, M. and Scoones, I. (2025) 'Editorial: Environmental Governance in an Uncertain World', IDS Bulletin 56.1A: 68–76, DOI: 10.19088/1968-2025.110Editors
Melissa Leach Ian ScoonesSeries
IDS BulletinVolume
56Issue
1AVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)